This is our newest hobby for now and forever. Composting.
Yeah I know - I'm late to the party. For all but the last 16 years, I have been a city girl. When we moved up here to a semi-rural area of Northern California I wanted to garden and compost - I liked the compost but hated the stench. I know now that I have lived a spoiled life when most country people have already done this.
Now California has "mandated" it as of Jan 1.
If you're going to mandate something, shouldn't you know what to tell the newbie people like me, how to do this? As I mentioned yesterday, our green bins are now also for all food waste. All of it. Even the partially eaten meat lasagna with cheese. Or the spoiled milk (actually that can be poured down the drain) I was told anything that was once alive. Except for animals and humans. Duh!
Enough of this. Today I bought a composter bin and a countertop composter - and I will own/keep my own compost for my garden. The Lomi is just too expensive and we're just 2 people. It made sense to just do our own composting, except for meat, bones, and uneaten lasagna which goes into the green bin. It will have to be layered - hey, just like a lasagna! Then placed in the city's green bin. I will save money with our own beautiful dark organic compost knowing what it is made from and from where. We've been meaning to do this for a couple of years. Thank You, California.
Both items come on Thursday. Garbage pick-up is on Thursday.
One more item to clutter my already small kitchen countertop.
Adventures in Overthinking...
And then the circus in my brain chimes in...
The used cooking oil (which I don't use that much and isn't an issue) goes to the green bin - sopped up in paper towels. Don't paper towels come from trees? No wax paper or plastic. Newspapers are okay. I haven't had a newspaper in years. Do I subscribe now just for the city's compost? Can't use magazines due to the glossy paper. (I don't have magazines) I don't even have a brown paper bag - I bring my own bags to the store, am I to start getting brown bags from the store? Now I get to buy and use paper products again so that I can save the world. Never mind the trees.
Apartments - and multi-family units - don't have to comply. Why is that? Wouldn't their efforts composting reduce the amount of waste in landfills even faster as well as lowering greenhouse gases?
What about Tahoe and the Bears? Are they exempt? No not the bears.
Tahoe already has a bear problem.
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change
Courage to change what I can and the
Wisdom to know the difference.
"Embrace the change. We all have to adjust to it. Following the protocols will be easier than fighting it which could result in fines".
Forced compliance. This is composting...
California-style
